Within the last decade, the use, scope and availability of the Internet have dramatically increased. Indeed, the Internet now may be used to access vast amounts of information, and perform a wide array of tasks. For example, a user connected to the Internet via a personal computer, personal organizer, web-enabled cellular telephone, or other similar device (collectively referred to herein as “Client Devices”) can obtain information about the latest news, show times, weather forecasts, driving directions, airline flight status, credit card balances, bank account statements, and a wide array of other information. In addition, a user may order products, schedule services, transfer funds, select seats, check in for a flight, and perform numerous other tasks from the convenience of a Client Device.
Typically, a user accesses the Internet via a web browser, such as Internet Explorer by Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash., Netscape Navigator by Netscape Communications Corp., Mountain View, Calif., or other similar web browser. While browsing the Internet, a user often will want to print, email, or otherwise record the information displayed in a web browser. For example, a user may check in to a flight, and then want to print a boarding pass displayed in a browser window during the online check-in process. If the Client Device is coupled to a printer, the user may simply issue a print command from within the web browser to print the boarding pass.
In numerous instances, however, a Client Device may not be coupled to a printer or other device for recording information displayed in a web browser. For example, a user may be connected to the Internet via a public Internet access facility, such as an Internet café, hotel, airport lounge, or similar public space that provides network access. Although such a public Internet access facility provides network access, it may not provide printer access, and the user therefore may not have immediate ability to print information displayed in a web browser.
Even if a public Internet access facility provides one or more printers, such devices may not be readily accessible to all users. For example, a user may browse the Internet on a Client Device at an Internet café that allows wireless access to a local printer. Before the user may send a print job to the printer, however, the user typically must install a printer driver for the printer. For instance, the Internet café may host a web site that includes a link for installing an appropriate printer driver on the user's Client Device, or may provide a web address for the printer manufacturer's driver download web page. The user may be reluctant to download the driver, however, because such software typically consumes significant computer storage. Although many laptop computers include large disk drives, other Client Devices, such as handheld computers, personal organizers, and cellular telephones may have much less abundant disk space. As a result, installing large printer drivers on such devices may not be feasible. Further, the time required to download a printer driver from a manufacturer's website and then determine how to configure the printer driver may be very time consuming and difficult for some users.
One previously known technique for printing, archiving, faxing or otherwise recording web information involves saving the information to a file on the Client Device, and then subsequently retrieving the file for offline processing. For example, the user at the Internet café may save information displayed in the browser as a hypertext markup language (“HTML”) file on the user's Client Device, and may then email the saved file for subsequent printing at another location (e.g., at an office printer via the user's desktop computer). This technique may be ineffective, however, because the saved file may not include all of the information that originally was displayed in the browser. For example, if a web page includes dynamically generated content linked to a remote server, such as an online bank statement, the dynamic content may not be included when the browser image is saved to an HTML file. As a result, the subsequently printed image may not include the information that the user actually wished to print.
Another previously known technique for printing browser content uses the “Web Capture” feature of Acrobat, by Adobe Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif. In particular, if the Client Device is a computer running a Windows operating system, and is viewing a web page using an Internet Explorer 5.01 or later web browser, the browser toolbar includes a button that may be used to convert a web page to a portable document format (“PDF”) file on the Client Device, and then either save the PDF file on the Client Device or print the PDF file to a printer attached to the Client Device. Alternatively, a user may open a web page from within Acrobat, which will then convert the web page to a PDF file that may be saved on or printed from the Client Device.
The Web Capture feature, however, has numerous disadvantages. First, if a web page includes dynamically generated content linked to a remote server, that content may not be included when the displayed image is converted to a PDF file. As a result, the subsequently saved or printed image may not include the information that the user wishes to record. Second, it may be impossible for a user to browse certain web pages from within Acrobat. For example, if a user's bank account web page may be viewed only after providing a username and password entry for account access, and the user enters the web address of the sign-on screen, Acrobat immediately converts that web page to a PDF file, and the user is unable to enter the sign-on information necessary to access the account information web page. As a result, Web Capture may be useless for processing content included in many desirable web pages.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for recording information displayed in a web browser.
It further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for printing information displayed in a web browser without requiring installation of a printer driver.
It additionally would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for recording information displayed in a web browser that includes dynamically generated content.